Night Before the Swing

Hello Motherhood!

CHAPTER 16

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Christian's lawyer finally made contact sixteen months later and this brought Gwen relief accompanied with annoyance. She was in no hurry of being called Mrs. Long but she desperately wanted to dissociate from the Mason name. The resentment she felt for her husband encouraged her tolerance for his lawyer. Gwen discarded the first two divorce papers sent to her, but after the horrific incidents at their old house, she lost all passion and desire to fight for what she felt was rightfully hers. It had been way over a year and Gwen was more than ready to meet with Christian's lawyer and sign herself out of Mason's deplorable life. Nala questioned the need to meet in person with the divorce attorney seeing as Gwen wasn't contesting Christian's terms and conditions. Long had asked the very question and called the attorney but he didn't take his call. Long left a voice message which was soon responded to by a text stating that he wanted to make sure there wouldn't be a change of heart from Gwen's side. He needed to ensure that Gwen initialed the papers correctly to avoid another back and forth that could last for another year. What he intentionally didn't mention was that Christian also needed assurance that his first wife wasn't planning on using the information she had about his other wife to damage his reputation. Mason's lawyer ended his text with a warning for Gwen to keep her distance from Neaty and her family home. "I don't give a dam about Neaty and her child and I will not use that defenseless girl to settle any score or to syphon money from Mason".

Nala listened quietly while internally debating which information to give her mama first. She was sure she had found a delicate way of starting the conversation about Neaty's second pregnancy when her phone rang and interrupted her trail of thoughts. It was her aunt preparing them for her visit. She and Nandi were already on their way. Nala was surprised that Nandi was still around days after the baby shower and moreover, disturbed by her best friend's closeness to her aunt.

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Long was with Yola's father and Nala kept peeking through the door to try catch his attention. She had decided to share the gossip with him first but Yola saw her and waved her to her house. They ended up drinking hot chocolate in Yola's bedroom which resembled Glenda's. Nala wondered if they intentionally designed their room to look similar but didn't ask. This is where Nala discovered Yola had a child. Stunned, Nala shot four questions without waiting for a response. What? By who? How come I've never seen him? Did I already know you when you had him?!

Yola was thirteen when she gave birth and since she and her boyfriend weren't ready for parental duties, the paternal grandparents took the child and are still raising him. What was more shocking to Nala was that Yola and the father of the baby were still an item. "He comes around often and he's even seen you siting with Tyler outside your home." Nala asked about her baby and expressed her desire to meet him. "I'll make sure his next visit coincides with your return from varsity." Yola promised.

Shortly after that surprising discovery, Gloria and Nandi arrived and Nala had to excused herself and rush back home. Nala sat especially close to her aunt. She couldn't admit it but she felt a little threatened by Nandi's presence in Gloria's life. Nandi gave them space and focused on Tyler but Nala was still battling with feelings of jealousy. When Gwen raised the issue of Christian finally moving the divorce process forward, Nala decided to free herself by sharing information she'd kept hidden for months, starting with the one she found lighter. Neaty and Christian are expecting their second child and most neighbours in Bronx-Kay know who the father is. "Has he no shame?" Long blurted out without warning. Everybody shared the same sentiments as Long. "Christian should be ashamed! Sleeping with a girl who's almost his daughter's age? Why can't he find an adult woman to settle with?" Long continued. When Nala reminded them of the other wife, Gloria wryly said "She left his sorry arse". Nala could see that everyone, except her, was privy to this information and asked what happened. Silence descended briefly. Sensing everyone's discomfort to telling Nala the truth, Long bravely answered, "you happened". What!?" Nala exclaimed. "Turns out the other wife didn't know about you and Gwen when she married him. When the Forest family requested to meet him about you, he was forced to come clean about having a daughter who's at varsity. Cuba later found out about Gwen and that she was married to her husband years before he married her. She moved back to her parents' home and left Christian with their two children"